Archive for Instant Movies

Ths film is a bit predictable, but manages to remain enjoyable because of the rich scenery, well-developed characters and cultural insights. Set in India in the late 1930’s a British tea and spice merchant’s affair with a popular local village woman, Sajani, leads to a series of events. The period is classic ‘Merchant & Ivory,’ the drama is intense.

The Tiger And The Snow (Italian with English subtitles) is a tour de force for Roberto Benigni . This is a tender rocket-ship of a movie built around the constantly agitated humanity of its star — who is almost always on screen. His pursuit of his amour forms the central crisis of the movie and takes him from Rome to Bagdhad in the midst of the Iraqi War.

One of my favorite scenes is when Roberto in his role as a poet lectures his university class on the importance of choosing words carefully. He gives a similar talk to his daughters when they ask why he became a poet. He tells them about a wonderous experience he had as a small boy but was unable to express to his mother. This made him think:

“There must be people whose job it is to use the right words, put things in a way who when their hearts beat, can get other people’s hearts to beat. That day I decided to become a poet… If the words aren’t right, nothing is right.”

This is the only one of his films available today on Netflix instant. Many others are available from Netflix as DVDs or will soon be.

We built Flicks-Now so we could find the movies we wanted to watch on the Netflix instant site. In the past few weeks I have found and watched a series of great Spanish language films.

Butterfly: A great Spanish (sub-titled) film about the relationship between a boy and his teacher during the Spanish civil war.

The Method: Recruitment interview from heaven and hell – 5 Stars. Also Spanish – set in stylish modern day Madrid. The interview becomes a tense contest pitting the seven, or are there only six, applicants against one another.

Arcibel’s Game: An Argentinian film about a journalist whose article about chess gets him jailed as a political prisoner — for life !

and last night:

Sex and Lucia: Tales intertwined with the love life of a Madrid watress. One of the most sexually charged films I have ever see. The plot was confusing but with its hot steamy themes and beautiful people this films keeps moving. Directed by Julio Medem, who also directed ‘Lovers Of The Artic Circle’ .. also available with this Flicks-Now search … another restless Latin love story.

Mi Mejor Enemigo: I found this gem using this Flicks-Now search. At the outbreak of the war between Argentina and Chile a group of Chilean soldiers are sent into the wilds of Patagonia to defend a very lonely border. They become lost, adopt a dog when they encounter six Argentinean soldiers everyone digs in — twelve tense soldiers in two trenches facing one another — otherwise alone and lost on the vast and empty plain. The Chilean’s stray dog is soon running between the two trenches. Don’t miss this one.